War Thunder Infantry Closed Beta Returns in July 64v64

War Thunder is moving from tanks and aircraft toward fully player-controlled infantry. Gaijin Entertainment is preparing the next phase of its Infantry update—bringing controllable FPS characters and large 64v64 battles—while the third stage of a closed beta test for the build is scheduled to run in July.

War Thunder Infantry closed beta: what’s coming in July

Gaijin has not published specific start or end dates for the third closed beta stage yet, but applications are open for players to join on their preferred platform. The test will focus on boots-on-the-ground combat and the introduction of light car troop vehicles.

Light car troop vehicles will be added, capable of transporting up to five players at once.
Players will be able to switch between passenger and driver roles as needed.
New map rotation content will include the Central Africa-themed map set “Kivu.”

The beta is also intended to validate large-session performance. Gaijin says it has made “significant” server optimizations to support a 64-vs-64 format, meaning 128 players per session.

Kivu map: Central Africa, capture points, and scale

“Kivu” is arriving with the closed beta and includes a mission mode built around capture objectives. Gaijin says the map features five capture points in its mission structure.

Mission mode with capture objectives
Five capture points
Infantry CBT scale: described as the largest Infantry closed beta map to date, roughly four times the size of the prior locations

Third beta stage: bigger battles, respawn updates, and class changes

Beyond vehicles and the new map set, the July beta stage is also set to expand the battlefield experience with revised rules and soldier tuning.

Updated respawn rules for larger battles
“Significant changes” to the game’s four soldier classes
Weapon preset changes tied to those class updates
Restricted access to certain equipment: specialized tools such as RPGs, MANPADS, and drones will no longer be available to every soldier

Infantry update: controllable FPS characters (the major shift)

The Infantry update itself represents the biggest step so far. For the first time, War Thunder will allow players to control characters in an FPS perspective outside of vehicles.

Gaijin notes that previously, character control has worked through more than 2,500 vehicles spanning armored ground units, aviation, and naval vessels, supported by 140+ battle maps drawn from across military history.

New vehicles and equipment for Soviets and the US

Gaijin is also preparing additional hardware for the test, including items for both the Soviet and United States tech trees.

Soviet: Kord 6P67, PP-19, and T-90M
United States: M4A1 and XM5
Additional vehicles: LAV-AD

Arcade Battles changes: line-of-sight markers, movement, and infantry graphics

Arcade Battles are set to return with several quality-of-life updates aimed at clarity and responsiveness.

Marker display logic updated to represent a player’s line of sight more intuitively
Movement adjustment for soldiers carrying heavier loads of equipment
Independent infantry graphics settings added after player feedback
Alternative weapon grip option added

What to expect next

With the July closed beta focused on infantry combat, large-session server validation, and new map/class rules, War Thunder players can expect the Infantry update to bring a major gameplay expansion: direct, controllable characters on foot alongside vehicle-based battles.